City man charged with raping woman he met on Facebook

New London — Police arrested a 23-year-old city man Friday who last year allegedly invited a 16-year-old girl he met on Facebook to his apartment and raped her.

Jonathan Chang, 23, faces first-degree sexual assault charges from the alleged September 2011 rape. According to court documents, Friday's arrest was the seventh in the state for Chang since January 2011. He was also arrested earlier this month after he allegedly punched and elbowed his ex-girlfriend in the face outside the Family Bowl in Waterford.

The ex-girlfriend now has a protective order against Chang, of 208 Montauk Ave., who appeared in New London Superior Court today to face first-degree sexual assault and third-degree assault charges stemming from the two incidents. He had his case transferred to the Part A court in New London, where more serious crimes are heard. He's due to appear there Jan. 7 and is held in lieu of a combined $175,000 bond.

According to an arrest warrant in the sexual assault case, Chang "friended" the girl on Facebook and they corresponded over the Internet until he invited her to his apartment Sept. 8, 2011. The 16-year-old victim said they went to watch a movie in his room when he tried to kiss her. She told Chang "no," the documents said, but Chang continued to kiss her and eventually restrained her and raped her, despite the victim's pleas for him to stop. He then told her to leave the apartment, she said. The whole ordeal, the victim said, lasted less than 30 minutes.

She called a friend, crying and upset, the warrant state, who accompanied her to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital where a sexual assault examination was completed. A later DNA swab from Chang, whom the victim immediately identified as the perpetrator, matched with DNA found during the sexual assault exam. Court documents indicate Chang first denied the encounter and later changed his story, saying the two had consensual sex and that the girl was the aggressor.

Since 2011, according to online records, Chang has convictions including second-degree unlawful restraint, third-degree assault and second-degree breach of peace.